Am I Wrong is great pop song. Would be Top 10 for many of the other years in the 2010's, but for 2014 it is my #13.

02. Sam Smith - Money On My Mind (34)

04. Meghan Trainor - All About That Bass (32)

05. Rixton - Me And My Broken Heart (27)

11. David Guetta ft. Sam Martin – Lovers On The Sun (20)

12. Cheryl Cole - I Don't Care (29)

13. Nico & Vinz - Am I Wrong (19)

17. DVBBS & Borgeous ft. Tinie Tempah – Tsunami (Jump) (28)

18. Sam Smith - Stay With Me (31)

22. Magic! - Rude (33)

26. Rita Ora – I Will Never Let You Down (25)

27. 5 Seconds of Summer – She Looks So Perfect (22)

28. Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud (21)

29. Cheryl Cole ft. Tinie Tempah – Crazy Stupid Love (30)

30. Aloe Blacc - The Man (23)

33. Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea – Problem (26)

34. Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj – Bang Bang (24)

35. Gareth Malone’s All Star Choir – Wake Me Up (36)

36. Will.i.am ft. Cody Wise – It's My Birthday (37)

37. Ben Haenow – Something I Need (38)

38. Band Aid 30 – Do They Know It's Christmas? (35)

Midnight was a fantastic left turn from Coldplay, it was one of my favourite songs of that year too <3 Been a while since they've properly surprised me since, although Coloratura was a great one.

I quite like Am I Wrong, it was very catchy and I heard it a few months prior where it was entered into BJSC, otherwise not a huge amount I care for since I last commented.

Question marks in song titles are often dropped for some reason. I assume it's where it can be taken as more of a statement but not having the guts to commit😄"Am I wrong!" It's quite a pleasant track this one, still sounds nice without being outstanding or anything, but well-produced and the laid-back vibes still appeal. I rated it top 40 at the time but it's better than that, probably more top 20 for me and upper-mid-field here.

24 minutes ago, Popchartfreak said:

Question marks in song titles are often dropped for some reason. I assume it's where it can be taken as more of a statement but not having the guts to commit😄"Am I wrong!"

Are they meaning it as a rhetorical question then, or should those have a question mark too? I admit I’m not great at grammar! 🤣

7 minutes ago, Jaz13music said:

Are they meaning it as a rhetorical question then, or should those have a question mark too? I admit I’m not great at grammar! 🤣

Maybe it needs an interrobang to cover all bases 🤣

18. Ed Sheeran – Sing

Chart run: 1-2-3-3-4-7-8-10-14-15-19-23-24-26-27-26-29-33-36-30-26-22-25-34-36-44-44-39-37-27-27-29-35-35-41-45-44-47-38-44-54-57-69-71 (44 weeks)

Sales at number 1: 123,864

Year End: 11

Number 2 peaks behind the chart topper: None

Its that Edward Sheeran again! A common refrain for the last 14 years at least I suspect.

I shan’t rehash his career given I have already covered it in this rate, but this time we have his first number one and the lead single from the album x.

Ed had clear momentum following the mega success of +, but he avoided much of the same here and Sing is a change in musical direction from folk rock which should be applauded as its easy for artists to stick in a successful groove.

Sing was co-written and produced by joint man of the moment Pharrell Williams (he’s in the video and uncredited on background vocals and Ed, appropriately, is some sort of muppet) and I think this was the encouragement for the change in sound. The sound was inspired by Justin Timberlake apparently especially from the vibe of FutureSex/LoveSounds. The lyrics? Its about a night out in Las Vegas. Must make you Sing.

The song did well worldwide, reaching 13 on the US Billboard chart and number 1 in Australia, Canada and New Zealand and top 10 across Europe. This was the point that Ed moved from a successful singer/songwriter to a global superstar.

Its catchy enough, I always prefer a go-ey Ed song to his ballads and folky stuff and this demands your attention. The Sing!......then pause is quite the earworm as are the ahhoooh oooh oooh ahh ahh ahh in the chorus. I first heard it before release in Barcelona, and I couldn’t work out who it was so the change in direction was clear! I like this, but its not in my Ed Sheeran top 5 so this placing seems fair. It is certainly better than the other number 1 he had in 2014.

Sing was catchy and fun, quite a surprise sound for him at the time I thought. I rarely go back to it though and Thinking Out Loud is of a much higher quality for me.

I never really got into Am I Wrong that much but it was cool to se a Norwegian act get a major global hit. I had heard it ages before it charted (over a year earlier) when they were called Envy and I never would have expected it to get an international push like it did.

Sing is one of the Ed singles I can tolerate, it had a bit more to it than his staid ballads. It was a bit of a red herring as a lead single, but I suppose the Pharrell involvement made the difference

10 hours ago, Jester said:

The sound was inspired by Justin Timberlake apparently especially from the vibe of FutureSex/LoveSounds.

Interesting, sounds more like Justified-era Justin Timberlake to me. 'Like I Love You' comes to mind

3 hours ago, Riser said:

Interesting, sounds more like Justified-era Justin Timberlake to me. 'Like I Love You' comes to mind

I see where you’re coming from!

21 hours ago, Jaz13music said:

Are they meaning it as a rhetorical question then, or should those have a question mark too? I admit I’m not great at grammar! 🤣

I think Grammar is just a bonus aspiration these days, AI makes those sort of decisions these days 😄

Ah, Sing, my first new fave Ed Sheeran song at the time and it holds up well I think. I can see the Pharell and Justin vibes too, and all the better for it. Best track so far along with the spaghetti cowboy dance.

I think Avicii being involved with 'Lovers On The Sun' passed me by at the time but that makes so much sense! I don't mind that one, the Morricone influence in that Spaghetti Western guitar twang appeals to me as a fan of his.

I loved 'Am I Wrong' at the time but don't really revisit it much now. It does still stand out as quite refreshing amongst this list though.

'Sing' is another one I quite liked at the time, especially for Pharrell's involvement, but the falsetto chorus does grate on me a bit now. Can definitely hear the JT influence, 'Like I Love You' is a particularly good shout.

Love both 'Am I Wrong' and 'Sing', that's probably one of Ed's very best for me but it seems to have been overshadowed by many of his other hits since.

'Sing' is good and funky one of Ed's best.

17. Take That – These Days

Chart run: 1-3-4-6-8-8-17-27-30-38-46-59 (12 weeks)

Sales at number 1: 63,998

Year End: 90

Number 2 peaks behind the chart topper: None

This would be a good complete the sequence round (horned viper obviously) on Only Connect:

5 4(5) 4 ??

The answer is 3 of course, being how many band members Take That have had in order. By 2014, Robbie Williams had left, rejoined and left again but this time he was followed by the departure of Jason Orange, leaving Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Chewbacca. Erm, Howard Donald.

Considering how long it had been since their last number one – Greatest DAIYE back in 2008 and that The Flood had missed the top spot, I wasn’t expecting this to enter at number 1 at all and it was a bit of a surprise. Probably similar to the same mild surprise I had at Robbie getting a number 1 with Candy a couple of years before. Both seem an outlier for their careers.

Also, this was Take That’s 12th number 1. 12! Pretty impressive by any means.

These Days was the lead single from the album III and was sung by all 3 (or III) remaining band members with no real lead. I bet that annoyed Gary Barlow, given how miffed he got with Robbie in the 90s for pinching his limelight. The theme of These Days is nostalgia and friendship and although it is good to look back, it is good to appreciate the days gone by - but live in the moment with an optimism for the future while looking back to now with misty eyes.

It’s a hook laden upbeat dancy tune and it really deserved to be number one. It is almost the bands swansong for now – you never know when Take That will rise again phoenix style though. But, as these days stand, they haven’t troubled the charts since 2017 and there is no sign of that changing.

I saw them on their tour for their last flop album a couple of years ago and to be fair, this was one of the highlights so it cements its position in the top 20 of the rate.

Love These Days, their last really great single for me, I liked the Bananarama-esque method of all members singing every word in unison, it felt fresh for them. I hadn't expected it to get to No.1 either but Band Aid 30 fell off very quickly.

Weird to think this got to No.1 while The Flood didn't, but at least it didn't collapse and had a fair few weeks in the top ten.

'These Days' is quite a good track forgot it got to #1.

I had forgotten this Take That track, even though it topped my own charts! Bizarre! It's a good pop track that has been ignored by radio since, unfairly. Not as classic as The Flood of course, that's their best 20th century track, but it's upbeat fun and probably slots in behind Avicii/Guetta and maybe just ahead of Sing.

Agreeing on the love for The Flood. Robbed of number 1 by Rihanna.